- [Voiceover] Financial documents are best…analyzed over time.…Let's take, for example, the concept of growth.…If a company grows, it can mean, for example,…that it is generating more revenue this year…than it did last year.…By looking at financial information over time,…you are, in essence, looking at the trajectory…on which the company is.…Each financial element, whether it is in the balance sheet,…income statement, or cash flow statement,…can be analyzed over time.…It is always very interesting…to compare to previous quarters or years…and understand if the performance…is heading in the expected direction.…

Reviewing information over time also provides the ability…of identifying exceptional changes…in the performance of the company,…such as the acquisition of a new business,…or, on the opposite side,…the selling of a division of the company.…Such analysis can be performed…on virtually any element of the company.…Some interesting metrics are revenue evolution,…profit evolution, expenditure evolution,…asset evolution, debt evolution,…

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Released

11/7/2013

A wealth of information is available to you if you know how to read financial documents. Being able to glean information from an income statement, a cash flow statement, or a balance sheet can give you an edge in understanding not only your own business but also your competition. In this course, Rudolph Rosenberg, a finance expert, takes you through the steps of making sense of what is contained in financial reports and how to read them. You'll also learn how they fit together to give you a view of a company's situation.

Lynda.com is a PMI Registered Education Provider. This course qualifies for professional development units (PDUs). To view the activity and PDU details for this course, click here.The PMI Registered Education Provider logo is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Topics include:

What is a financial statement?

Reading the balance sheet

Understanding depreciation, liabilities, and equity

Reading the income statement

Understanding revenue, costs, profitability, and net income

How cash flow works

Analyzing financial documents with context<br><br>

The PMI Registered Education Provider logo is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.